Supply chains across China are in disruption because of the Covid outbreak, and WM Motor's manufacturing sites in Wenzhou and Huanggang have inevitably been affected, it said.

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) startup WM Motor delivered 3,309 vehicles in April, up 48.9 percent from a year earlier but down 40 percent from March, data released Friday by the company showed.

The deliveries were based on insurance registrations of WM Motor models in China in April, according to the company.

WM Motor grew despite the ongoing challenges of adverse factors including the Covid epidemic, chip shortages, battery raw material price increases and supply chain disruptions, it said.

Supply chain systems across China have been disrupted because of the Covid epidemic, and WM Motor's manufacturing sites in Wenzhou and Huanggang have inevitably been affected, it said.

WM Motor made every effort to secure the supply of key components such as chips to meet demand as much as possible and to prepare for the first delivery of products to customers once the Covid situation improved, it said.

Before the April deliveries were announced, Freeman Shen, founder, chairman and CEO of WM Motor, said on Weibo on May 11 that the Chinese auto industry faced challenges in April, including the Covid epidemic, rising raw material prices and chip supply issues.

Thankfully, sales growth in new energy vehicles (NEVs) was still strong, with 231,000 pure electric vehicles sold, up 34.6 percent year-on-year, he noted.

"WM Motor's insurance registrations in April were up nearly 50 percent year-on-year, and I believe that sales of new car makers will grow at a high rate with the rebound of the market," he said.

WM Motor was once one of China's best-known EV companies, but it hasn't done so well in the past year, not releasing delivery figures for most months last year.

WM Motor is currently offering the EX5-Z and W6 to the general public, and the company also has the EX5 and E.5 models, but they are only available to corporate customers and are used as ride-hailing vehicles.

On April 15, WM Motor's new E.5 model was launched and made available to the general public.